GOZO COLLEGE SECONDARY Half Yearly Exams

Transcription

1 GOZO COLLEGE SECONDARY Half Yearly Exams Subject: ENGLISH LANGUAGE Form: 2 Secondary Level 7-8 Time: 2 hours NAME: CLASS: INDEX NO: Section A: Language (15 marks) A. Read the fact file of these famous tennis players and make suitable comparisons.the first one (0) has been done for you: (5 marks) Page 1 of 10

2 RAFA NADAL NOVAK DJOKOVIC ROGER FEDERER BORN: 3rd June, 1986 BORN: 22nd May, 1987 BORN: 8th August, 1981 SIBLINGS:1 younger SIBLINGS:2 younger SIBLINGS: 1 older sister sister brothers HEIGHT: 1,85m HEIGHT: 1,88m HEIGHT: 1,85m WEIGHT: 85kg WEIGHT: 80kg WEIGHT: 85kg CAREER TITLES: 46 CAREER TITLES: 28 CAREER TITLES: 70 SPOKEN SPOKEN LANGUAGES: SPOKEN LANGUAGES: LANGUAGES: Catalan, Serbian, English, German SwissGerman, English, Spanish and English. and Italian. French and Italian. KING OF CLAY Does NOT hold the title of KING OF CLAY Does NOT hold the title of KING OF CLAY 0. Federer s and Nadal s families are (0) smaller (small) than Djokovic s family. 1. Djokovic is (1) (young) than Nadal and Federer. 2. Federer is (2) (tall) Nadal and he is (3) (heavy) him too. 3. Djokovic is (4) (light) of the three. 4. Djokovic s family is(5) (large). 5. Nadal has got (6) (many) titles than Djokovic. 6. Federer has got (7) (many) titles of all. 7.Nadal is (8) (good) clay court player of all. 8. Nadal speaks(9) (less) number of languages. 9. Federer is(10) (old). B. Insert ONE word. The first one (0) has been done for you: (5 marks) It had been a (0) fine day but now it was getting (1) as the clouds were gathering in the already grey (2). Tom walked fast (3) he wanted to reach home before the storm broke Page 2 of 10

3 (4). He was (5) afraid of the rain but he was terrified of thunder. Suddenly, he heard (6) calling him. He turned (7) and saw his bestfriend s father approaching in his car. He offered Tom (8) lift home. Tom was not sure that he wanted to(9) as he had always felt uneasy in this man s presence. (10) could he do? C. Insert the verb in brackets in the correct form. The first one (0) has been done for you: (5 marks) (0)Are (be) you a news fan? I (1) (watch) the news everyday because I like to keep myself informed. Yesterday, while I(2), (eat) my brother(3) (switch) on the TV. It(4) (be) a terrible day for me and I (5) (feeling) ill. However, I was soon absorbed in a news item about the invention of unusual fruit. Farmers in Japan(6) (invent) watermelons which(7) (be) square. I wondered what(8) they (invent) next? I was so interested that right now I (9) (read) an article on the subject. I (10) also (research) more articles on the internet. Page 3 of 10

4 Section B: Comprehension (20 marks) Read South Africa s Nelson Mandela, which is printed on a separate sheet, and then answer the following questions. 1. Put a tick ( ) in the correct box according to whether the statement is TRUE (T) or FALSE (F). 2 marks [ ] True False (a) The Republic of South Africa is set at the centre of the African continent. (b) South Africa has always enjoyed great peace. (c) Nelson Mandela was put in prison in (d) Blacks in South Africa suffered because they did not have equal rights as whites had. 2. Why did trouble first spread in South Africa about 150 years ago? 2 marks [ ] 3. List TWO reasons why blacks could only own a very small percentage of land in South Africa. 2 marks [ ] i. _ ii. _ 4. (a) Quote ONE word which means the same as segregationist laws. 1 mark [ ] (b) Quote TWO words which describe apartheid. 1 mark [ ] Page 4 of 10

5 5. (a) Why was Nelson Mandela put in prison? 1 mark [ ] (b) Did Mandela stop fighting against apartheid when he was in prison? Why? 1 mark [ ] 6. How did the other nations fight against apartheid? 2 marks [ ] 7. Why are 1990 and 1994 important years for South African blacks? 2 marks [ ] (a) 1990: (b) 1994: 8. Explain why Nelson Mandela is considered to be a special person. 3 marks [ ] 9. Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage. 1 mark [ ] (a) great (line 23) (b) released (line 31) 10. What do the following words refer to in the text? 2 marks [ ] (a) It (line 2) Page 5 of 10

6 (b) Their (line 23) (c) it (line 26) (d) That (line 34) Section C Literature (20 marks) A. Poetry (10 marks) Answer all questions. Unprepared text From breakfast on through all the day At home among my friends I stay, But every night I go abroad Afar into the land of Nod. All by myself I have to go, With none to tell me what to do All alone beside the streams And up the mountain-sides of dreams. The strangest things are there for me, Both things to eat and things to see, And many frightening sights abroad Till morning in the land of Nod. Try as I like to find the way, I never can get back by day, Nor can remember plain and clear The curious music that I hear. by Robert Louis Stevenson The Land of Nod 1. Complete the following sentences about the poem. The first one is given as an example. (3 marks) [ ] a) In the first stanza the child tells us that during the day he stays at home with his friends but every night he travels to the land of Nod. Page 6 of 10

7 b) In the second stanza c) In the third stanza d) In the fourth stanza 2. Quote FOUR phrases related to the child s senses from the third and the fourth stanzas. (2 marks) [ ] a) b) c) d) 3. a) But every night I go abroad (1 mark) [ ] Afar into the land of Nod. The above is an example of. Page 7 of 10

8 b) Explain the comparison. (2 marks) [ ] 4. Write down the rhyme scheme of the first stanza. (1 mark) [ ] 5. What is the theme of this poem? (1 mark) [ ] B. Prose Answer all questions Unprepared text Read the following passage and answer all the questions below. During a dull, dark, and quiet day in autumn, I was passing alone, on horseback, through a nearly dark large country area. At length I found myself within the view of the House of Usher. With the first glimpse of the building, a sense of unpleasant gloom spread through me. I looked with a heavy heart upon the house and its bleak walls with windows like empty eyes and a few white trunks of decayed trees. What was it, I paused to think, that made me feel so nervous about the House of Usher? I pulled the reins of my horse to the steep edge of a black mirror-like mountain lake that lay by the house. I looked down with a shudder upon the upside down images of the grey marsh plants, ghastly tree stems, and empty eye-like windows. Nevertheless, in this gloomy mansion I intended to spend some weeks. Its owner, Roderick Usher, had been one of my close companions in boyhood, but many years had elapsed since our last meeting. I called to mind the letter I had lately received from Roderick that indicated how uneasy he felt. He had spoken of an illness, a mental disorder, that depressed him. He also expressed an earnest hope that if he were to see me, his best friend, it would both cheer him up and improve his Page 8 of 10

9 health. It had been his straightforward manner and truthfulness about the situation that forced me to accept his invitation without hesitation. As boys, we had been even closer, yet I knew very little of my friend. He had always been quite shy and unwilling to talk about his situation. I was, of course, aware that for generations his family had been noted for its somewhat worrying nature and involvement in the arts, although more often the unusual rather than the typical styles of art and music. I had learned, too, that in the minds of the peasants, over the centuries, the family had always been thought a bit strange. According to the local people, both the mansion and the family were referred to as The House of Usher. Now, I was here, looking down into the mountain pool. I again lifted my eyes to the house itself from its image in the pool, and examined the building more closely. The years of weather had discoloured the stonework. Tiny patches of mould overspread the exterior, hanging from the stone building in a fine tangled web. No portion of the walls had fallen but there was a great difference between the overall look and the crumbling condition of individual stones. Adapted from The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe 1. In this extract the narrator paused to think. What do we call such a break in the narrative? (1 mark) [ ] 2. Pick out two phrases which show the passage of time. (2 marks) [ ] a) b) 3. Underline the best answer. (1 mark) [ ] During this pause, the narrator remembers: a) a similar house where he had grown up. b) what was in a letter he had received. c) how he had almost drowned in a mountain pool. d) when he had visited Roderick in the hospital. Page 9 of 10

10 4. What do his childhood memories explain about the general opinion of his family? (2 marks) [ ] 5. Mention two things that you learn about Roderick Usher s character. (2 marks) [ ] a) b) 6. Quote a simile. (1 mark) [ ] 7. Explain the comparison mirror-like mountain lake. (1 mark) [ ] Section D Composition Write between 150 and 200 words on ONE of the following: (25 marks) 1. Write an to your friend telling him/her about a holiday you recently went on. Use the correct layout of an Write the biography of a famous person you admire. 3. Write a story for the school magazine called The Ghost House Composition title number Page 10 of 10